There is a new advertisement on TV at present for the Commonwealth Bank with Toni Collette as she shares a poem about removing the ‘t’ in Can’t to become Can!

But is it really that simple?

Fear is that nattering voice inside our heads that says, you can’t, you shouldn’t, what if…As women over 50, our fears have built over many years. Fear keeps us from taking risks that might enrich our life or holds us back from doing some things we need to do. Fear says, “I can’t do that.”

Ninety-nine percent of what we worry about never happens, according to Susan Jeffers, Ph.D., psychologist and author of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. “There’s a voice inside our heads that’s always heralding doom and disaster even before we get started on something,” she says.

On its own, fear won’t disappear. Following are some strategies to help you deal with fears that might be holding you back from something you want or need to do.

Get information.

Lack of information allows fear to take hold. But when you find out about what scares you, you replace fear with knowledge.

Learn how to do it.

If there’s something you’d like to do, but you’re afraid to try, take lessons. We’re not born knowing how to ride horses or make pottery.

Find mentors.

Find someone who has achieved what you want to do and let them guide and mentor you. Just as fearful behaviour breeds apprehensions, courageous behaviour invites confidence.

Talk about your fears.

Keeping your fears bottled up inside magnifies them. Taking them out into the light can shrink them. Find a good listener who won’t criticise your fears or make judgments. After all, we are women – we like to talk!